UPDATE: UGI Utilities is still at work restoring power to customers affected by outages in the aftermath of Tuesday’s destructive thunderstorm, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is working to reopen roads closed by fallen trees and other debris.

As of Thursday afternoon, 3,390 customers — out of more than 15,000 — still don’t have electricity. UGI expects 90 percent of customers to have power back by Friday evening at the latest.

UGI crews, supplemented by workers from Northeast Utilities in Connecticut and 23 crewmen from FirstEnergy Corporation, are working across the service territory, but are focusing on the Back Mountain and Shickshinny areas. The widespread nature of the damage and the significant number of trees and wires down are impacting restoration time frames, according to a press release from the company.

Two cooling stations have been set up for customers affected by the outages:

> The West Side Career and Technology Center Cafeteria, 75 Evans St., Pringle, has ice and water available for pickup.
> The Lehman Township municipal building, 1183 Old Route 115, will be staffed until 8 p.m. today for people to get water and recharge electronic devices.

PennDOT has reopened the following roads:
> State Route 415 in Harveys Lake from the intersection of Anderson Road to the intersection of May Avenue.
> Country Club Road in Dallas.
> Warden Place/Second Street in Harveys Lake.
> Carpenter Road in Harveys Lake.
> Kunkle Road/Beaumont Hill Road/Lake Catalpa Road in Harveys Lake and Dallas.
> Main Road/Hunlock-Harveyville Road in Huntington Township.
> Bonnieville Road in Huntington Township.
> State Route 29 South in Lake Township.
> State Route 239 in Huntington Township.
> Golf Course Road/Fall Road in Hunlock Township.

The following state roads remain closed:
> Irem Road/Main Street/ Church Street in Dallas is closed in both directions from the intersection of Claude Street to the intersection of Country Club Road.
> Outlet Road in Lake Township is closed in both directions from the intersection of Locust Tree Road to the intersection of Church Road.
> Locust Tree Road in Lake Township is closed in both directions from the intersection of Lehman-Outlet Road to the intersection of Hickory Tree Road.
> State Route 92 in Exeter Township, Wyoming County, is closed in both directions from the intersection of Lockville Road to the intersection of state Route 292.

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A thunderstorm with damaging wind gusts of more than 60 miles per hour wreaked havoc in northern Luzerne County on Tuesday, leaving a trail of fallen trees and branches and downed power lines to be cleaned up on Wednesday.

Although approximately 7,300 households — down from more than 15,000 Tuesday night — remained without electricity Wednesday night and numerous homes, cars and properties sustained storm damage, there were no serious injuries, according to Luzerne County 911.

UGI spokesman Joe Swope said the company, working with PPL and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, had restored power to about 7,000 customers on Wednesday, with about 8,000 remaining without it. The storm didn’t affect the gas system, but the electric division is bringing in 40 additional linemen from Northeast Utilities in Connecticut to assist UGI crews first thing Thursday morning.

UGI is actively soliciting additional lineman from other companies to assist in restoration efforts, and expects 90 percent of customers affected by the outage to be restored to service by Friday evening, according to Swope.

Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, PPL Electric Utilities brought power back to 47,000 customers, and expect power to be restored to nearly all customers by 11 p.m. Thursday, according to its website. Exeter Township was the hardest hit community in PPL’s territory, with 865 customers without power on Tuesday and 655 still out on Wednesday.

In hard-hit Harveys Lake, where more than 2,000 people lacked power, generators hummed all around Lakeside Drive. Several roads were closed.

“Our biggest incident yesterday was two trees came down and took the porch off a house. No injuries reported,” Harveys Lake Ambulance Capt. Chris Davis said.

The owners of that house, the Mulherns, believe their guardian angels were watching out for them. During the storm, fierce winds uprooted two trees, one of which toppled onto their porch, ripping it completely off.

“Luckily, we had just left the porch a minute before, and our lives were spared,” Eileen Mulhern said.

“Material things can be replaced.”

Falling trees also dragged down power lines and knocked utility pole 212 near the Mulhern’s house askew, making it sag precariously over Lakeside Drive.

“What a mess,” neighbor Danny Behm said as he handed the Mulherns names of reputable contractors to help clean it up.

The Mulherns had insurance. So did the Saba family of Dallas Township — and, like other property owners in hard-hit New Goss Manor, they’ll need it. Falling pine trees hit the corner of Robert and Mary Saba’s house and crushed their son Bobby’s Chevrolet Tahoe, which he had only purchased recently. Mary Saba said the tree punctured windows in her bedroom and the garage, and dented the family’s Volkswagen Jetta parked next to the Chevrolet.

“All good, though. Nobody got hurt,” she said, describing the damage as a “little bump in the road.”

The wind, which carried on like “some crazy little tornado that didn’t hit,” as Mary Saba described it, tore down trees and power lines all around northern Luzerne County, particularly the Back Mountain and Fairmount, Huntington and Union townships.

Public works departments focused on reopening roads so utility crews could restore services.

Jackson Township Supervisor Chairman and Roadmaster John J. Wilkes Jr. said at one point, three-quarters of the township was out of power. On Tuesday night, UGI had 750 customers without power and by Wednesday night, all but 21 had service restored.

“We are getting power restored rather quickly today, which is very good,” Wilkes said on Wednesday.

He said the road crew’s main focus was on areas where power lines were down, so the utility companies could get to them.

“We treat every wire as if it’s live,” Wilkes said.

He asked residents for a little patience, and advised them that, when the power lines are re-energized, to call 911 immediately if something seems wrong.

Wilkes also praised the Back Mountain’s regional emergency responders for working together so well in the aftermath Tuesday’s storm.

PennDOT crews worked all day Wednesday to reopen roads all over Luzerne County, particularly in the Back Mountain area, which had the worst storm damage and the most utilities out. Many remained closed as of Wednesday night.

Until power is restored, UGI and the Northeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the American Red Cross are providing a cooling station in the cafeteria of the West Side Career and Technology Center, 75 Evans St., Pringle. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and will provide water, snacks, bags of ice, charging stations for electronic devices and shower facilities.

Dallas Township resident Greg Collins returned home from Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday night to find toppled trees all over his yard, pulling down utility wires.

“I came back to this,” he said, gesturing at a large tree sprawled across the front yard.

But Collins is looking on the bright side. The power line to his house wasn’t broken, and the utility company thinks it can be reattached, so he shouldn’t be without electricity for long.

“The good news is every single one of those big branches fell away from the house,” he said of the carnage in the backyard.

There’s more good news for the storm-weary: The National Weather Service is calling for nicer weather for the next few days, with temperatures around 80 and sunny or mostly sunny skies. The next chance for thunderstorms will come Sunday.

Road closings

Here is a list of state road closures in Luzerne County as of Wednesday night. All roads are closed due to downed trees and utilities. Estimated time of reopening is undetermined.

• State Route 415 in Harveys Lake is closed in both directions from the intersection of Anderson Road to the Intersection of May Avenue.

• Carpenter Road in Harveys Lake is closed in both directions from the intersection of Lake Drive to the intersection of Ridge Street.

• Warden Place/Second Street in Harveys Lake is closed in both directions from the intersection of Lakeside Drive to the intersection of Ellsworth-Hill Road in Dallas.

• Kunkle Road/Beaumont Hill Road/Lake Catalpa Road is closed in both directions from the intersection of Lakeside Drive in Harveys Lake to the Intersection of state Route 309 in Dallas.

• Country Club Road in Dallas is closed in both directions from the intersection of Memorial Highway to the intersection of Tunkhannock Highway.

• Irem Road/Main Street/Church Street in Dallas is closed in both directions from the intersection of Claude Street to the intersection of Country Club Road.

• Outlet Road in Lake Township is closed in both directions from the intersection of Locust Tree Road to the intersection of Church Road.

• Locust Tree Road in Lake Township is closed in both directions from the intersection of Lehman-Outlet Road to the intersection of Hickory Tree Road.

• Golf Course Road/Fall Road in Hunlock Township is closed in both directions from the intersection of Pritchards Road to the intersection of Roaring Brook Road.

• Main Road/Hunlock-Harveyville Road in Huntington Township is closed in both directions from the intersection of Pond Hill Road to the intersection of Horton Road/Shickshinny Road.

• Bonnieville Road in Huntington Township is closed in both directions from the intersection of Register Road to the intersection of Old Tioga Turnpike.

In Jackson Township, there is a detour in place on Worthington Road in Woodridge, and Bulford Road is closed between Stony Brook and Sutton roads.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

jseibel@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2110

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